


Ignoble

by chiarodiluna



Series: As It Follows [1]
Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Alternate Ending, Cockblock Prudence, Episode: s02e12 Unnatural Habits, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 12:43:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14261238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiarodiluna/pseuds/chiarodiluna
Summary: Jack is NOT being noble tonight.An alternate ending to 2x12 Unnatural Habits.





	Ignoble

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first in a series that examines some things I would've liked to see following the events of Unnatural Habits.

Phryne knew something was different when Jack failed to greet her at the door with his usual aloof confidence. The look he gave her was vulnerable in a way she’d seldom seen. He barely even waited for her to step out of his way at the door, slipping past her without explicit invitation - outrageously rude at this hour by her inspector’s usual standards.

He stood awkwardly at the foot of the stairs as she asked about Rosie, then suddenly remembered at least some of his manners.

“Is it too late?”

“Never.” Jack Robinson would never be turned away from her house, especially with that look on his face.

As he awkwardly tried to explain himself, her heart went out to him. He had every right to still care for Rosie, and Phryne had no rightful claim over his time and attention, but here he was trying to subtly reassure her of the limits of his relationship with his former wife. Her feelings could not be understated for this man who was scrambling for nobility in a situation that was so undefined.

She could identify with exactly what Rosie had needed from him tonight, the man who always did the right thing.

“The noble thing,” she told him.

There was a subtle shift in his expression and she felt a wave of heat rush her body.

“Not always, Miss Fisher.” She was suddenly hyper-aware of his proximity.

Phryne knew this look in a man’s eye and she was thrilled to see it in Jack, even as her brain sounded a quiet note of caution. She’d left the door open for him long enough and it was time he stepped through, but she worried that he had been emotionally compromised by the betrayal of a man he’d looked up to and the sight of someone he’d once loved and held most intimate so utterly undone. He was adrift and he needed her port in the storm.

That last thought reassured her. He had been her rock so often before; it was her turn to be his.

***

Jack knew what he wanted. He’d sat in his car outside for a long time, weighing his options, his feelings, his needs and his wants. The betrayal of his former father-in-law and role model had given him a remarkable sense of freedom. It was a long time coming.

He’d married Rosie when he was young and impressionable, and had looked up to George as the model of what his life should be. However, as he grew older and wiser, his impression of the man and that life had slowly degraded. His experiences in war and his job, and the subsequent disintegration of his marriage had taught him a lot about society and the individuals within it. The incident with the showgirl from the Imperial Club and evidence of George’s bent morality the last few months had Jack questioning everything he thought he knew.

Jack was no longer young and impressionable. He scented the rot in the state of Denmark. He knew George was no longer the man he thought he was, but the revolting events of tonight were the final nail in the coffin of his respect for the man and the conventional life he’d represented.

He’d left Rosie’s home and found himself drawn to Wardlow. As he sat outside her house, pondering his options, he felt the shackles of his previous expectations drop away. Phryne Fisher was such a breath of fresh air in his life that he felt as though he were waking from a long slumber. The time to stop holding back and claim what he wanted was now.

“Not always, Miss Fisher.” She had made it clear that she would welcome him to her arms whenever he was ready.

He reached out for her waist and gently drew her to him, bodies pressed tightly together, eyes not daring to look away. He lowered his face towards hers, searching for any indication that she did not want this. He found none. She tilted her head back a little to look more directly in his eyes with a hint of challenge, so he met that challenge and kissed her firmly.

Her hands came up to his shoulders to hold on, one drifting to the base of his skull to grip gently. His arm tightened around her waist as he deepened the kiss, his other hand useless at his side with his hat still grasped in it.

“Was that the baby-- Oh!” Prudence Stanley’s shrill voice cut through their moment like a hot knife through butter. They broke the kiss and turned their heads to see the woman staring at them, mouth agape. Jack reluctantly let go of Phryne and stepped only an inch or two away from her. He was _not_ being noble tonight. Phryne’s hands dropped to her hips in frustration.

Prudence quickly regained her composure and snapped her mouth shut. Her eyes swept between the two of them as she was clearly trying to figure out how long this had been going on.

“It’s very late, Inspector.” Her imperious tone and withering gaze failed to affect him.

“Yes. Yes, it is.” Somehow he managed to imbue that statement with a hint that she, in fact, was the one trespassing. He still refused to move a muscle. Prudence pursed her lips at his insolence, but found herself wavering. She had known this would happen eventually and she couldn’t fault her niece’s taste. He was a good, decent man, present behaviour notwithstanding.

“Goodnight, Aunt P.” Phryne made a heroic effort to keep her amusement to herself. The baby in the parlour gave a small cry at just the right moment, instantly taking the lion’s share of Prudence’s attention. With one last conflicted look at the couple, she bustled off.

“I’m coming, little man!”

Phryne and Jack turned their gazes back to each other.

“Nightcap?” She asked after a long moment. Her eyes held promises.

“Maybe just the one.” The twinkle in his eye belied his words. Interfering aunts be damned.

***

Divested of coat and hat, Jack followed Phryne to her bedroom.

Much to his consternation, she took a turn for the business-like and sat him down forcefully on the little loveseat next to the door. She flitted over to a little cabinet in the corner and opened it to reveal a small liquor stash. She smoothly poured him a finger of whiskey and returned to him to shove the glass unceremoniously into his hand.

He watched her curiously as she sunk to her knees and applied all her attention to relieving him of his shoes and socks, giving his calves and ankles little massaging caresses as she did so. Oh, this wouldn’t do. He downed the whiskey and, as she moved between his legs to get close enough to start undoing his tie, he dumped the empty glass next to him on the seat and lifted her to her feet with him as he stood.

“Phryne,” he rumbled before kissing her once more. He did his best to make his intentions utterly clear: his tongue was confident as it explored her mouth; his hands were just a breath away from rough in their strength, grasping her body tightly to his, almost lifting her off her toes; he did not politely tilt his hips away from hers, but pushed steadily into her firm pelvis.

Phryne eventually pulled away from his kiss, gasping for air. Her eyes were entirely surprised.

“Jack,” she breathed, mostly failing to keep the cautious anticipation out of her voice. “Are you sure? You’ve had quite an evening.”

Jack’s eyelids hung low as he gazed at her with unmasked lust. The corner of his mouth twitched into a tiny smirk.

“Yes,” he said with complete conviction. After a moment, Phryne seemed satisfied with what she saw in his eyes and allowed herself an unrestrained smile.

“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.” She gently extracted herself from his arms, collected something from her dressing table and disappeared through the bedroom door.

Jack cleared his throat nervously when he thought she was out of earshot and looked down at himself, wondering how he should prepare. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it on the loveseat. He pulled his tie off and tossed it towards the loveseat then fumbled with the buttons on his waistcoat. He was halfway through unbuttoning his shirt when Phryne returned. His fingers froze at her heated expression.

She raked her eyes down his figure appreciatively. The open waistcoat hanging on his shoulders gave his form definition despite the billowy white shirt. She glimpsed the white vest underneath and she found herself desperate to reveal the rest of it, sure that it would hug is frame in a most delicious manner. Now she had no reason to restrain herself, so she stepped towards him and replaced his fingers with her own to finish unbuttoning the shirt. She slid her hands over his shoulders, under the shirt and waistcoat, under his braces, and pushed the whole lot off. It caught on his wrists, restricting his movement, and he simply stood there with his hands resting lightly on her hips, his eyes boring into hers, letting her explore what she’d uncovered.

She smoothed her hands down his chest and firm stomach, traced her fingers along his collarbone, his chin, his full lips, around his shoulders and down his arms. As her fingers reached his wrists, she loosened his cuffs and released him from the clothing bonds which fell to the floor with a soft _whump_. He lifted his hands to cradle her chin, his long fingers wrapping around the back of her skull and he bent to kiss her again, gentle and loving to balance the intense lust of his previous kiss.

He pulled back from the kiss and held her heavy-lidded eyes with his own as he reached down to unbutton his trousers. They dropped to the floor and he stepped out of them, then wrapped his arms around Phryne’s waist to lift her to his height and kissed her with abandon as he blindly found his way to her bed.

He silently congratulated himself as he managed to get them both on the bed without breaking their kiss or their heads. He pressed her into the mattress with his body, their limbs entwined, hips undulating against each other, necking like virginal young lovers. 

Jack gleefully permitted his hands to roam, discovering all those parts of Phryne he’d barely allowed himself to dream about. His fingers curled over strong shoulders, skated down slim arms, sunk into fleshy buttocks and thighs, hooked under bent knee to pull it further up.

Phryne’s hands were no less active. She was discovering all the hard and soft planes of his body, scratching through short hair at the base of his skull, kneading muscular shoulders and back, pressing into firm buttocks, circling slim waist. 

He slid his hand between their bodies to slip over the shiny fabric of her robe until he located the knot holding it together. He pulled away from her to sit up and back on his knees so he could get the full view as he worshipfully unwrapped her. She let her arms drop and spread out in sinful offer, allowing him to take his time. When she’d left the room to insert her diaphragm, she’d also removed her underwear and nightie. As he pulled the robe open, she felt her nipples tighten in response. Her heart was pounding with a level of anticipation she’d not felt for years.

Jack’s large hands dwarfed her waist as he laid his palms on her belly, fingers curling around her sides, and slowly smoothed up towards her breasts. He met her eyes with a smirk.

“Miss Fisher, I must inform you that my intentions are entirely dishonourable.”

Phryne laughed deep and full of languorous joy just as his hands reached their destination and he swept his fingers over her nipples. She arched her back into his touch, and her laughter trailed off in a light breathy gasp as he playfully tweaked her. His hands returned to her waist and stilled, so she relaxed her back and tilted her chin to look at him. His eyes still held the tension and sadness of the night’s events, but he was smiling at her, taking her in.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

He shook his head slightly. “Later. For now, it’s just you and me and this very important investigation I’m conducting.”

He lay back over her and kissed her deeply as she thrilled in the scratch of his vest against her bare skin and the press of his warm shaft cradled in her hips. Her hands roamed his back and started to slide under his vest, spurring him on to remove it, and the two of them hummed with pleasure as bare skin met bare skin for the first time.

And so proceeded their investigation, in a languorous entwining of limbs and gentle but purposeful undulation of hips. Hands and lips exploring, discovering pleasure points and ticklish spots. Tongues licking and mouths sucking. Bodies rolling and switching places of dominance. Quiet laughter and satisfied moans.

Phryne eventually managed to divest Jack of his underwear and she spent a good long time investigating this new area that left Jack gasping and grasping at her.

He pulled her up and rolled her under him, settling once more in the cradle of her hips and revelling in the evidence of her arousal dampening his groin. He smiled down at her, committing the moment to memory. She pecked him lightly on the lips. Her robe was spread beneath them, providing a lovely silky sensation to the affair, but her arms were still in the sleeves and it was frustrating her. She awkwardly tried to pull her arms out without disengaging from Jack.

“Here…” He laughed, lifting his weight from her chest a little and leaning from one elbow to the other to help her. Finally her arms were free.

“Better?” He asked.

“Much!” She replied and used her new freedom to grip his delicious bottom in one hand and the back of his head in the other as she pulled him into a filthy kiss. He chuckled against her lips.

She spread her legs further, bringing her knees up to his hips and tilting her own hips to clue him on to what his next step should be. He got the message loud and clear. He pulled back from their kiss and allowed her to guide him inside her. He slowly pressed all the way in, each of them transfixed on the other’s face, breath heaving in and out in expectant gasps.

“Oh, Jack,” she breathed and trailed her hand down his cheek and along his jaw. The intensity in his eyes softened slightly at her touch.

He took a long moment before pulling back and thrusting back in, slow then swift, again and again. Phryne felt her body jogged by every thrust, in the best way possible. Jack made a thorough job of it, pressing tightly against her apex each time, stimulating her clitoris as much as he could in that position.

All Phryne could hear was their laboured breathing and pleasured groans, and the occasional slap of skin and moisture. Jack dropped his head to her neck, mouthing along it and down on to her shoulder, delivering tender kisses there, and she returned the attention with nibbles and kisses to the shoulder that tempted her with its proximity. Her nails dug gently into his back as she felt his muscles and bones move under his skin. His thrusting rhythm was starting to speed up. Suddenly he grabbed her hands and moved them to press against the bed on either side of her head. He moved to grip her hips as he sat up and back on his knees, ensuring that their connection was maintained in their change of position. 

Phryne gasped in pleasure. Her inspector. Always surprising her. She crossed her legs around his waist and grasped the covers in her hands and held on for dear life as he began thrusting in earnest. He reached out with one hand for her breasts as they jiggled with the movement, squeezing, caressing, stimulating. Her back bowed and she did what she could to aid the angle of their thrust. 

“Yes yes yes…” She was panting now.

Jack’s hand left her breasts and rubbed firmly against her clit. She held her breath and tensed her body and was pushed dramatically over the edge. Her muscles squeezed, her hips twisted and her back lifted even further off the bed and she let out a shuddering breath. Jack, out of breath and sweating, held still as she writhed, now pressing firmly with his hand to draw it out as long as possible. He was secretly relieved it hadn’t taken her long, since he was riding the knife’s edge himself and hadn’t been sure he’d be able to hold on. To be able to watch Phryne experience her bliss like this was absolutely worth it.

After a moment, Phryne’s body suddenly relaxed and she released the bed cover to drape an arm over her eyes. She felt like a sack of bones. Jack moved his hands to cradle her waist and support her back.

“Oh, Jack!” She said again, this time with a note of satisfied glee and a huffed laugh. Jack bit his lip as her laughter squeezed her internal muscles around him. He couldn’t help the involuntary little thrust he gave, alerting Phryne to his condition. She pulled her arm away and looked at him, both of them still breathing heavily. She reached out her arms to him. “Come, my darling.”

He grabbed her arms and pulled her up to straddle his bent legs, wrapping his arms around her back and embracing her tightly. Phryne, surprised once more, laughed and Jack groaned. Enough torture. She used her new leverage to start up a new rhythm, trying to provide as much pleasure for him as she could. She alternated thrusts with circling her hips around and around while he was deep inside her, undulating movements back and forth, squeezing her muscles around him, and soon his eyes were beginning to lose their laser focus. He gazed up at her face then dropped to admire her breasts, running his hands all over her body, squeezing and caressing. He’d lick or bite a nipple when it came close enough to his mouth to reach, or land sloppy kisses on her shoulder.

“Phryne,” he whispered against her skin. Now he was giving as good as he got, their rhythm speeding up and he felt the edge creeping up on him. He grasped her securely around the waist once more and swept her off her knees and onto her back, taking over the job of thrusting himself to completion as she squeezed around him. He gasped out against her cheek and held still as the orgasm rolled through him.

As he came down, he found his face stuffed in the crook of her neck and her hands running soothingly through the short hair at the back of his neck. He purred a little as he slowly allowed his weight to rest on her. He rubbed his nose in her neck a few times before lifting his head to kiss her deeply, then rested his head back on her upper sternum, his hands tucked underneath her shoulders and fingers curling over a little.

“Am I too heavy?” He murmured.

“Not yet,” she replied. “I like you here for now.”

They lay like that for a few minutes, simply basking in their connection, until Phryne indicated that she needed some space and Jack gingerly extricated himself from her. She wrapped her robe around herself and left to use the bathroom. When she returned, Jack was under the covers and spread out on his back, most of the way to Slumber Land. He looked wrung out, but content, and she smiled at the sight that she had longed to see in her boudoir.

Phryne climbed under the covers and lay her head on the pillow. She reached out to lay her hand over Jack's heart. His eyes opened slightly to small slits to look at her and he gave her a small, tired smile as he covered her hand with his own. He was out within minutes, mumbling her name along the way, and she followed closely behind.


End file.
